Exhibitors Daily Review (Jul-Dec 1928)

In this Issue A. J. Van Beuren Tells "What's Right with the Movies" DAIt^MVIEW Keg I . S. I'm. Off. — Continuing I Cxhibitom Trade Review Devoted to the fostering and developing of the Motion Picture Industry. VOI,. 24 No. 10» New York, Saturday, November 111. llia.S FIVE CBNTS From Here to There By ARTHUR JAMES Today the donor of the Sam Harris cup steams from England to America to be present in person at the Anglo American amity dinner at the Biltmore November 20th. Word came from tlte dinner committee yesterday that acceptances and reservations were beginning to be received in numbers of stimulating size and that all things pointed to a really tine party with trimmings. The secret of the cup winner is still a secret but (he way matters now beg-in to look the event will outshine its object. • • • We hear that the name of Charlie Chaplin has been presented to and considered by the Committee and nobody could find any fault will; that. Charlie could win any amity cup in the world with his hands tied and carrying 20 pounds excess. Hut this is a matter for the little gods. May they have a hell of a good time about it. Empires have gone blooey over lesser circumstances and smaller crises. • * * The Motion Picture Club is such a credit to the industry and so admirable a contribution to its business social life that it is small wonder the list of applicants for membership grows apace. Al Lichtman i'lid h*s group of enthusiastic associates have worked against the early odds of apathy and now they have made it a real club the tide is coming their way. Congratulations are superfluous but here they are again just the same. • • • A brilliant picture with pleasant sound, "The Woman Disputed" which opened with Miss Norma Talmadge starring, last night at the Kivoli Theatre — more of this United Artists triumph later. • • • The agent who toils not and spins not but who collects plenty is in for a permanently hard season, as artists and those who seek to be can now deal direct with studios and s;ne the unnecessary percentages. A good inoie and one long needed on the west coast. • * * The real agent who attends to Hie affairs of (he artists, who is for all practical purposes a business Manager, earns his bread and salt i'ii( the shift) clique that do nothing but loaf and collect are barnacles on tiie pinnace of progress. FIVE DISTRIBUTORS VICTORS IN DETROIT SOUND INJUNCTION Roxy Dividend Declared —May Retire Class "A" The Roxy Theatre Corporation Hoard of Directors yesterday declared the regular quarterly dividend of Slh-zC for the period ending November 15th, payable December 1. There were also rumors in the "Street" yesterday that the Roxy Class "A" stock may be retired shortly. FRANKLIN COMPLETES THEATRE DIVORCEMENT Harold B. Franklin, President of West Coast Theatres, having successfully arranged the details of separating Publix and United Artists houses from the West Coast chain, while in New York the past few days, is again returning to the West Coast on Monday. Change "Alias" Opening "Alias Jimmy Valentine" latest M-G-M all-dialogue thriller which was scheduled to go into the Astor Theatre on November 14th, has been moved forward a day to the 15th, as a courtesy to Warner Brothers who are opening "On Trial" on the 14th at the Warner. VOCAFILM IN 13 YR. SCHWARZ DEAL David R. Hochreich, President of Vocafilm Corporation of Vocanlm had closed a thirteen year exclusive license agreement with the Maurice Schwarz Yiddish Talking Pictures Corporation, of which Maurice Schwarz is Director General. Jews throughout the world, by means of Maurice Schwarz's Vocafilm productions, will be able to see and hear Maurice Schwarz and his famous Yiddish Art Theatre Company of artists. Maurice Schwarz's Yiddish Talking Pictures Corporation will make a minimum of six plays each year over the Vocanlm synchronization system, and each will be a "100% Talker". John Graham in N. Y. John Cecil Graham and Mrs. Graham and Major and Mrs. Charles E. Bell arrived in New York yesterday. Mr. Graham is Managing Director of the Paramount British organization. Major Bell is also connected with the Graham organization. Small in Town Edward Small of Asher Small & Rogers arrived in New York yesterday from the Coast and will confer with Charles Rogers on recent developments of the Sonora-Bristolphone deal. Fox Hot After "Midtown" Broadway Theatre Lease Neeper Returns from 3 -Week Lloyd Trip Creed A. Neeper, assistant manager of the Harold Lloyd Corporation in charge of the New York offices of the company, today returned to his desk after a three weeks trip throughout the south and middle west in the interests of "Speedy", Harold Lloyd's current Paramount comedy release. While on the road Mr. Neeper visited the Paramount exchanges in Cincinnati. Indianapolis, Memphis. St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Omaha, Sioux Falls, and Des Moines. The Midtown Theatre, at 74th & Broadway has finally been completed and originally supposed to be one of the original Roxy Theatre Chain, it is now being negotiated for by Fox Theatres, anew. The Roxy Theatre Corporation which had first call on the theatre allowed their option to lapse and Small-Straussberg Circuit who put up the money for the theatre were some time ago seeking to lease the house to independent operators. Due to the acute booking situation, surrounded as the theatre is by Loew and other opposition, a scarcity of (Continued on page 2) Robertson Drops Case Asking Dismissal of All Charges ll« BPBCl \l. W ll«K DETROIT Paramount, lJathe. Warner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and First National won a complete victory here yesterday with the abondonment of the Robertson Injunction trial before Judge Miller in the Wayne Co. Circuit Court. Attorneys for the plaintiff, Robertson, who had sought to obtain a permanent injunction restraining the film companies from withholding sound pictures from his theatres, on pretext of having actual contracts for such sound versions, requested that the case against the defendants be dismissed. The various defense council agreed, by previous arrangement that this would be done and that both sides would pay their share of court costs. The fact that the case is dismissed (Continued on page 2) S0N0RAT0NE STARTS SHORT SUBJECT PROD, Charles R. Rogers, General Manager of Sonoratone Pictures, the distributing organization of Asher, Small and Rogers, Gotham Productions and Lesser-Warner pictures, announces that a Gotham producing unit, headed by Sam Sax, has started work at the company's studios in Waterbury. The first three short subjects of the company's scheduled 52, are being 'shot', with the SonoraBristolphone sound process. Trini, famous Spanish dancer, and her Marimba Band, will constitute one subject; The Four Nightingales, a feature of Beatrice Lille's recent musical comedy, will be another, and Maty Copeland, "blues" singer, the third. Herman Heller, formerly musical (Mrector of Vitaphone. will direct. KATZ TO "START 5TH MANAGERS CLASS FEB. Announcement was made today by Sam Katz, president of the Publix Theatres Corporation, that steps would be taken to select another class for training of the Publix Theatres Managers Trainine School. The school was organized in July. (Continued on pace 4)